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House Judiciary Committee Approves Due Process Reform Measure

AILA Doc No. 02072606 | Dated July 26, 2002

American Immigration Lawyers Association Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 26, 2002

CONTACT Amanda Carufel, (202) 216-2404

Lawmakers Take Stand for Families, Fairness:

House Judiciary Committee Approves Due Process Reform
Measure

Washington, DC—In an effort to keep American families together and restore
justice for legal immigrants, the House Judiciary Committee passed an amended
version of the bipartisan Family Reunification Act, H.R. 1452. The Act would
restore a limited measure of fairness to a harsh 1996 law that was meant to
clamp down on illegal immigration and make it easier to deport serious
criminals. Instead, the 1996 law has torn apart thousands of American families
and stripped long-term legal immigrants of their basic rights.

The final measure the Judiciary committee passed reflects a compromise
between House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and the bill's
sponsor, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). The Sensenbrenner-Frank compromise would
provide a limited opportunity for certain long-term legal permanent residents to
ask a judge to consider the facts of their case before deciding whether to
deport them from the United States. The measure includes an amendment by Rep.
Darrell Issa (R-CA) that requires any new grounds of relief from deportation to
be personally approved by the Attorney General or Deputy AG and contains a
sunset provision that would terminate the measure in 2005. AILA opposed the Issa
amendment but supports the Family Reunification Act as an important first step
toward reforming the harsh 1996 laws. The measure would:

Ban relief for anyone convicted of terrorism-related or other serious
offenses, such as rape, murder, and sexual abuse.

“Representatives Frank and Sensenbrenner are to be commended for reaching a
compromise on this important issue. The Family Reunification Act is a limited
and narrowly crafted response to unjust immigration policies that cause good
lives to be needlessly ruined by a bad system,” said Jeanne Butterfield,
Executive Director of AILA. “The Act is a first step toward changing a system
that badly needs to be reformed. We need to use our law enforcement and INS
resources to target terrorists, not harmless members of American families.”

The Family Reunification Act would restore the basic right of long-term legal
immigrants to have their day in court. Without the Act, the 1996 law
indiscriminately subjects all legal immigrants convicted of even minor offenses
to a “one size fits all” punishment of lifetime deportation, with no chance to
have their cases evaluated by a judge to determine if such a harsh penalty makes
sense.

One American family that would be helped by the Family Reunification Act is
that of Robert and Sheila Salas. Robert came legally to the United States from
Peru in 1985 and has been a lawful permanent resident for 16 years. His wife,
Sheila, is an Air Force staff sergeant and they have two young daughters. In
1999, Robert decided to apply to become a U.S. citizen, partly so that if his
wife is assigned overseas the family can move together. During his citizenship
interview, Robert truthfully disclosed his 12-year old conviction for simple
drug possession, which resulted in probation and was later dismissed. Even
though his offense is not considered a conviction under criminal law, it counts
as an “aggravated felony” under 1996 immigration laws that are retroactive. INS
put Robert in deportation proceedings. The Salas’ are fighting to keep their
family together. If Robert is deported, Sheila will be forced to decide between
keeping the family together and serving her country.

“It may come as a shock that anyone would oppose the fundamental American
principle of having one’s day in court, that anyone would deny people like the
Salas’ the right to have their case heard; but the measure, approved by an 18-15
vote, does have opponents,” said Butterfield. “It is a very sad day when the
right to a day in court becomes a controversial idea.”

“Our immigration laws can be both tough and fair,” concluded Butterfield.
“The bill simply recognizes that certain long-term legal residents deserve an
opportunity to present the facts of their case and have a judge determine
whether or not they should be deported from the United States. Now it is up to
Congress to restore this basic right to long-time legal immigrants.”

# # #

Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides
its Members with continuing legal education, information, and professional
services. AILA advocates before Congress and the Administration and provides
liaison with the INS and other government agencies. AILA is an Affiliated
Organization of the American Bar Association.